Easter Swap !

A few days ago I received my Easter Swap package from Dottee ... I squealed with delight when I opened it !!  I couldn't believe it ... Dottee and I used the same image on our tag !! Is that crazy or what ???   We've never met and only emailed a couple times prior to the swap but obviously have some things in common ... what a hoot !!  The image we used is one of my favorites !!    This was my first "swap" and it was fun!   A special Thank You to Sandy for hosting our swap. look forward to your next one !!

 My sweet tag from Dottee - love the glittery bunny and little pins

 All my goodies - (note empty candy bag bottom right )

I sent the things below to Dottee:

A tag, a couple dozen handmade cupcake toppers w/wrappers, some crafting goodies, some chocolate (of course) and an Easter pull toy I made. I love vintage pull toys and thought I'd give it a try.

 My Tag to Dottee

My first pull toy, but it was fun so I'll probably do this again.  Thanks to Elizabeth at Creative Breathing for sharing the cute image

Thanks for stopping by, always good to see you !  E

He is Risen !

Matthew 28

Jesus Has Risen

 ¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

 ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 ⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Praise be to God !  Easter Blessings to you and yours,  E in TN

Chug'n Along

It's hard to believe that it Easter is only one day away!  This month has gone by pretty fast but at times really slow.  Thanks to everyone for the prayers for my Aunt, she died peacefully on April 7th so the last couple of weeks have been pretty hard.  She was the last living relative of her generation and very special to me and my daughter.  My mother died before my daughter was born and Aunt Chob (pronounced with short vowel sound) was like a Grandmother to Laura.

Aunt Chob had a life long battle with her weight, and in 1981 had wt. loss surgery; it no doubt saved her life.  The picture above is how I remember my Aunt Chob from my childhood.  I remember when this photo was taken she had lost several pounds.  She always liked to dress up, she looks really happy here. The interesting thing to me about this picture are the cameras in the bottom corners of the pic.  If it weren't for Aunt Chob and her camera there would be very few pictures of me and the cousins.  Aunt Chob loved to take pictures.  

Aunt Chob was mighty proud of Laura and I.  Laura is an actor and Aunt Chob loved to see Laura perform.  The pic above is a few years ago following one of Laura's college shows, she was nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".  (I'm look'n pretty bad here. I was knee deep in chemo, had no hair and a very few blood cells) 


Aunt Chob loved the soap opera General Hospital and her dream was to see Laura on "her show" ...  well that didn't happen but ironically during one of Aunt Chob's final semi-lucid days we were at her beside watching TV and the ACM (Academy of Country Music) award show was on.  The country duo Steel Magnolia was nominated for New Vocal Duo of the year and a segment of their video "Last Night Again" was aired.  Laura had been cast in the video and it was filmed last summer.  So there was L's (for 2 seconds) on national TV!!  Aunt Chob seemed to smile ... we cried.  We miss you Aunt Chob :)

(Laura in black/white cks on left) http://www.cmt.com/videos/steel-magnolia/606489/last-night-again.jhtml

Life is calling ... be back soon

Thanks to all for the kind words of encouragement and prayers for my Aunt.  She is being discharged home tomorrow with Hospice, so I will be away for a while.  I will see you at Sandy's Easter Swap.  Blessing to you, E

My Prayers Are With You

“O Lord, my God grant us your peace; already, indeed, you have made us rich in all things! Give us that peace of being at rest, that sabbath peace, the peace which knows no end.”  

St. Augustine

I graduated from nursing in 1970 and began my career in a “new” area of the hospital called the Intensive Care Unit.  Nurses working in this area were “trusted” to care for gravely ill people; even “allowed” to take blood pressures without a doctor’s order !!  So much has changed … and some things never change. 

During the early years of my career I developed a philosophy that I believe still rings true … “if you aren’t sick when you get here (the hospital), you will be when you leave”.  A month ago my Aunt Chob entered the hospital for a “simple” out-patient CT scan, had an allergic reaction to the contrast dye, and has since struggled to survive.   

My 40+ years at the bedside have taught me that “there are far worse things than dying”.  I’ve cared for countless people who barely cling to life, yet we (health care) continue to probe and prod them.  So after a life time devoted to caring for ill and injured people, I’ve come to the conclusion that one of God’s greatest gifts is a peaceful death.  My prayer for my dear sweet 83 year old Aunt is that God will give her peace.  Thanks for “listening” 

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious o you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”. Numbers 6:24-26



Hippity Hoppity

Don’t you love vintage pull toys?  I remember having a bunny similar to this one (I found this one for sale on etsy at stuffcarrielikes).  In an attempt to “organize” I’ve been throwing away, giving away, burning, and burying, “junk” for the last several years. Recently I’ve started to regret the parting of ways with some of those treasures!  Sure wish I had my bunny!

The Easter swap at Sandy’s is nearing and it took me a while to process and get started, but think I’m finally on a role.  Here’s a peek at some of the supplies I'm using on my project … (shhh it’s a secret).

 

A wonderful image from Elizabeth (Bluebird Papercrafts), wooden clothes pins, wooden doll pin stands, wooden dowel, ribbon, glittered eggs, and embellishments.  I'm pretty excited about my first swap, and to see what everyone creates !  Happy crafting!!

  

Love letters with a twist (a download)

Is this just the cutest idea ever  ??!!  

Tutorial and Download HERE:

 http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/post.cfm/diy-wedding-hanky-love-letters

…and now you may kiss the bride … Do those words make you smile?  It seems love is in the air all around me … Congratulations to all the young couples celebrating this exciting time !!

I discovered blogland as an escape from reality when my daughter was hospitalized with an eating disorder. Oh the places I could go in blogland!  Beyond the wonderful community of crafty women (I dearly love my blogland crafting friends!) I also discovered fabulous event planning sites, particularly wedding sites. I’ve been “doing weddings” for friends since I was a teen. I love all the details!! 

I continue to follow a few of the wedding blogs and thought I’d share some of my favorite sites in the event you or someone you know is planning for the big event.   

Here’s a few things I learned from my many hours of “research”: 1) weddings are expensive!, 2) you can have a really nice wedding without breaking the bank, 3) It’s easy to get caught up in details and forget what’s important, and 4) When my daughter or niece get married I must hire a wedding planner if only for the “day of” otherwise I will be one “crazy MOB” (mother-of-the-bride ! 

Enjoy !!!

http://www.marryyoume.com/

a personal favorite

http://www.stylemepretty.com/

serious eye candy

http://www.weddingblogs100.com/

List of top bridal blogs a great resource especially for the bride looking to express personal style 

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/

of course we all know that Martha has a ton of DIY ideas and downloads

http://www.i-do-it-yourself.com/

loaded with wonderful ideas

http://weddings.craftgossip.com/

great tutorials

Here are a couple local brides I’ve been following, they began their blogs by sharing their personal experience and continued after their weddings.  They offer great budget savvy advice.

http://www.thethirtysomethingbride.com/

(click “my wedding” for her personal tuts) I love her traditional style

http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/

Traditional wedding with a country twist, very nicely done

Now a tiny plug for our local economy – Nashville Wraps is an online store that has great wrapping products such as tissue paper (ever so popular now) and favor bags, boxes and ribbon.  (We use their products for work related projects)

http://www.nashvillewraps.com/?adword=g_nashvillewraps&gclid=CMOz4JXjracCFaJl7AodTB5fEA

PSA (Did you know that someone with an eating disorder can have a normal or elevated BMI ?  If you or someone you love has “disordered eating” (ie: too much, too little, restricting type/amount/frequency) please seek help (http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/) February is national eating disorder awareness month.